


She Is His (And He Is Hers)

by WinterXAssassin



Series: Let Me Take You Back (To Where It All Began) [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Comfort, Conversations, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cuties, Declarations Of Love, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Love, Love Confessions, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, Natasha Romanov gets a hug, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), steve is a sweetheart, these two
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-11 14:07:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8983825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterXAssassin/pseuds/WinterXAssassin
Summary: A talk about feelings leads to something between the soldier and the spy. Finally, they are where they belong - in each other's arms.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Phoebe_Snow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoebe_Snow/gifts).



> Yay! The next part of this saga is here! I would've had it up earlier, but at Christmas-time and afterwards I was kinda busy, and even on New Year's Day I couldn't access my laptop.  
> So it's finally here, and I hope y'all enjoy.

As they stood at the edge of the falling city, staring, thinking, Natasha broke the silence by rhetorically asking, "Where else am I gonna get a view like this?" Steve just stared at the redhead, whilst she admired the view, a sort of sad half-smirk dancing around her lips.

He wanted to say something in response, to blurt out his feelings for her, perhaps, but then Fury interrupted with, "Glad you like the view, Romanoff. It's about to get better." and then a Helicarrier was rising up out of the clouds in front of them, and the chance to speak privately was over; the moment ruined.

* * *

After everything with Ultron was over, and everyone had gone down their own path, Steve still felt like he barely had the chance to talk to Natasha alone, especially since the two of them were busy training and bonding with the new recruits: Sam Wilson, now going by the codename Falcon; Wanda Maximoff, aka Scarlet Witch; James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, aka War Machine; the android Vision; and Wanda's twin Pietro Maximoff, who went by Quicksilver. 

Sam and Rhodey had integrated into the team lifestyle fairly well; after all, both had been in the airforce and therefore knew how to work well alongside others. Vision, who was sometimes accidentally called JARVIS by pretty much everyone except for the twins, was trying to integrate and bond with the team as best he could _._ _Trying_ being the operative word. He was  _okay_ in combat; not the best, but not the worst, either. His main issue was the fact that he found it hard to do all the bonding activities that the rest of the team took part in. Team movie night? Sure, he was down for that. Going out clubbing? Not so much.

Wanda and Pietro, however, were a different story. Since it had been just the two of them for so long, they didn't know how to cope with being part of a team, and Wanda was so afraid to use her powers in case she hurt someone, that she wasn't doing so well in training, either. Training was about the only thing that Pietro was alright with doing as part of a team. He seemed to be working well in that case.

Long story short: Steve barely had any time to himself, let alone the time to talk to Natasha  _in private_.

Finally, though, there came a chance when there was no training, and the rest of the team were doing their own thing.

* * *

He found her in her room, red-eyed and sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, looking like she was trying to hide. But from what? Steve gently rapped on the doorframe, and she glanced up, nodding for him to come in, and he made sure to shut the door behind him.

"Hey. What's wrong?" he asked softly, perching on the edge of the bed and giving her a gentle smile. "Talk to me, Natasha. We're partners. And you can trust me." When he extended a hand towards her, palm up, she tentatively stretched her own hand out and laid it in his, letting out a sigh when he squeezed her hand.

"Where am I gonna go without being called a monster? How can I love and  _be_ loved? Why would anyone want me?" the spy asked, and fresh tears tracked their way down her cheeks. She shook her head and looked down at their conjoined hands, but she didn't remove her hand from his. "Who am I supposed to be?" She sounded so miserable that it sent a sharp stab of pain straight to Steve's heart. What made her talk that way? Where did the strong, brave Natasha that he knew and loved so well go? Was this her true self - the remnants of Natalia, the little girl who wanted to be a ballerina?

Steve reached out with his free hand and brushed a red curl out of Natasha’s face, and then he drew her into his arms, holding her close. “It’s okay, Nat. Just let it out.” He could tell that the redhead needed to let go of her past, once and for all, and he was going to be there when she did. She needed the release – it was cathartic, and he would be fully supportive – because that’s what friends did. Not because he loved her. It wasn’t that.

Okay, so it kind of _was_ because he loved her. He just wasn’t quite so willing to admit that to himself, simply because he was trying to let Natasha choose her own path. He didn’t want to force himself upon her. He loved her, and wanted what was best for her. And if he needed to let her go, then so be it.

Natasha sobbed into his chest, fresh tears soaking into his shirt, and she clung to him like he was her lifeline.  _And he wanted to be_. But he kept that thought to himself, and simply rubbed a hand up and down her back slowly, remaining silent and stoic as she cried out the last vestiges of her sadness. Eventually, after what seemed like hours - when in reality it was only about fifteen minutes - Natasha calmed down and looked up at him with tired eyes, and perhaps there was a questioning quirk of an eyebrow, too.

Steve gently wiped away the tear tracks from her face, and then kissed her forehead in what he hoped was simply a friendly manner - to him it was something else, but to her, it was not.

"Why did you do that for me? Not even Clint..." Natasha shook her head, glancing down.

Instead of answering her question, Steve said something else entirely. "Look, Nat, I know you probably don't wanna hear this - right now, or at all - but I can't hold it in anymore, and I  _need_ to say it, even if things change between us because of it. l love you, Natasha Romanoff, and I have been in love with you ever since D.C., and I've had a crush on you from the moment you first met. And I know you and Banner have a thing-"

"- _Banner_ and I?" Natasha interrupted, spitting the doctor's name out of her mouth like it was poison that she had to get rid of, "That  _asshole_ left me. So there's nothing going on between Banner and I. It was a mistake, and I'll-"

This time it was Steve's turn to interrupt the conversation. "-and I know that you said love is for children, but dammit Natasha, if love is for children, then we might as well  _be_ children for all I care, because I am hopelessly, helplessly, truly, madly, deeply in love with you, and all I want is to spend the rest of my life with you by my side, forever."

The spy reacted in a completely different way to what Steve expected. She grabbed his collar and yanked his mouth down to hers for a chaste yet passionate kiss. When they parted, she wore her typical half-smirk, and stated, "I love you too, you idiot." And then she kissed him again. 

* * *

"Banner was a mistake. I never loved him... he was just a distraction because I was  _afraid_ of my feelings for you." Natasha told the supersoldier in the kitchen the next morning. "I didn't know how to act, and Banner needed someone who was small and appeared nonthreatening to the Hulk to give him the Lullaby treatment. So I decided to step up. Either that or Clint would've done it, and I doubt the Hulk would have trusted Clint as much as he does me. It was always you, Steve."

Steve just smiled and kissed her, saying nothing in response. He didn't need to. The kiss expressed enough words for him:  _I'm glad to hear it, and I love you_.


End file.
